The Impact of Postmodernism on Science Essay

Postmodernism has completely changed our vision of science. Against traditional beliefs, science is no longer based on rationality, but turns out to be a complex structure of subjective hypotheses, assumptions, and theses. Postmodernism has separated scientific beliefs from reason, and has significantly narrowed the scope of scientific ideas, which can only be used within limited cultural paradigms. The Impact of Postmodernism on Science Introduction With the rise of postmodern thought, science has ceased to be the source of rationality and reason in their traditional sense.

Against our beliefs into the rationality and objectivity of science, postmodernism has changed this image, making science irrational, subjective, and almost mystic (Schick, 1999). The modern speed of technological advancement has created a completely new area of scientific discoveries, where ideas replace each other with the speed of light. However, while scientists are occupied with the need to cure humanity of cancer and AIDS, we are gradually losing the sense of rationality that was so characteristic of science in previous decades.

Science has ceased to be rational, and this is the direct result of postmodernism’s impact on our scientific beliefs. From the viewpoint of postmodernism, we no longer believe in science as the source of universal and objective truths; rather, “science arrives at its truths in response to social forces both within and without the scientific community. Their periodic shifts in outlook come as a result of irrational conversions on the part of influential scientific leaders” (Grenz, 1996).

Moreover, we no longer view science as rational: to be more exact, science is rational to the extent that is applicable within a given cultural paradigm (Appignanesi, 2002). Ultimately, postmodernism implies that scientific ideas and hypotheses cannot be objective, and vary from culture to culture; as a result, different cultural groups hold to different beliefs in regard to similar events and phenomena (e. g. we still lack unanimous agreement as for the origin of species and are torn between Christian beliefs and Darwin’s assumptions about the logic of evolution). Conclusion Postmodernism has completely changed our vision of science.

Against traditional beliefs, science is no longer based on rationality, but turns out to be a complex structure of subjective hypotheses, assumptions, and theses. Postmodernism has separated scientific beliefs from reason, and has significantly narrowed the scope of scientific ideas, which can only be used within limited cultural paradigms. References Appignanesi, R. (2002). Postmodernism and big science. Totem Books. Grenz, S. J. (1996). A Primer on Postmodernism. Eerdman Publishing Company Schick, T. (1999). Readings in the philosophy of science: from positivism to postmodernism. McGraw-Hill Humanities.

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